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10/7/15

When I came to Washington in 2002, the Department of Defense was among Turkey’s best friends inside the U.S. government
.
The Pentagon considered Turkey a staunch ally and uniformed U.S.
personnel had a deep affection for Turkey, going back to U.S.-Turkish
cooperation in the Cold War and in the Balkans in the 1990s.

Today, the Pentagon has, for the most part, lost its fondness for
Turkey. This change is a result of America’s shifting sense of Turkey’s
identity and role in the NATO alliance.

The transformation of Turkey’s standing in the eyes of the U.S. military is due to Turkish and American dynamics.

Following the September 11 attacks, the U.S. government, including
the military, became preoccupied with identifying moderate Muslim
allies.

Turkey benefited from this endeavor as the ruling pro-Islamist
Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the elections in 2002, taking
office on a platform of moderation.

The AKP upset its potential allies in Washington, however, when it refused to help Washington in the 2003 Iraq War.